I thought I would continue my posting of the descriptions and commentary
on the illustrations of the last two Barsetshire novels which I began
around the time we started The Small House of Allington. In the
case of The Last Chronicle of Barset I have seen all 65 illustrations.

There were 32 Full-Page Illustrations and 32 Vignettes by George Housman
Thomas; and it was published as a book in 1867 (Volume I,
March; Volume II, July), Smith & Elder

Cover Illustration for each number:
First the cover for each of the weekly parts was sumptuous.
This book announced itself as a luxury product
by a well-respected author

Sources: the cover illustrations for all the numbers of a Smith, Elder
bound-together edition in 1867 of The Last Chronicle of Barset
which I saw in the rare book room of the Library of Congress. It
may also be seen in C. P. Snow, Anthony Trollope: An Illustrated
Biography, p.98 (full-page art paper black-and white photocopy); is
reprinted in R. H. Super, The Chronicler of Barsetshire, p. 240, No.
10 (reduced, black-and-white).

Description: a pale-yellow background an elaborately designed title in
large gold letters intended to evoke antique associations; the large
initial letters (T, L, C, B) blocked; these take up the top half the
wrapper. Trollope's name appears in dark-modern square type
across the middle. On the bottom half is a triangular frame in which
we see a church spire, with a weather cock; a church porch and
parsonage house; a tiny serpent and tiny pocket-book, on a
wall which encloses it all; the entrance is opened, and you have
steps up to walk in. Bright powder blue, dark rich reds and browns
dominate the colour scheme; around the triangular frame are
small green leaves.

Instalment One:

The Vignette:

We see a small picture of a butcher standing in front of raw
hanging meat, sharping his knives. He looks grim.
Vignette for Chapter 1 ('How did he get it?).
Sources: 1867 Harper and Brothers American One-Volume
Edition of The Last Chronicle of Barset, p. 1; and the 1867 Smith
& Elder edition of 20 bound -together numbers of The Last Chronicle
of Barset, No. 1. Unfortunately the illustrations on the bound numbers
are displaced; each of the 32 full-page illustrations serves as a
frontispiece to the whole and each of the vignettes appears at the
corner of the first chapter of the number whether it belongs
to the first chapter or illustrates the first scene or not.

Comment: this is strikingly appropriate as we are told that it was
Mr Fletcher, the butcher, who first became angry when he heard
other tradesmen had been paid before him and wrote Bishop Proudie
repeated letters complaining harshly about people who don't pay
their bills. The male figure is hard-looking, determined, no gentleman,
with little indication of any delicacy or kindness of heart. And
who has ever given him any slack in life?

The Full-Page Illustration:
'

The Rev Mr Crawley and His Wife'. Sources: Harper and Bros Last
Chronicle, p. 13 (all the full-page illustrations are somewhat reduced
in size to a three -quarter page; they are, however, carefully placed
over the scene they are intended to illustrate); 1867 Smith & Elder
Last Chronicle, No. 1. Reprinted Trollopiana, 42, p. 7.

Comment: George Housman Thomas has carefully studied Millais's
depiction of Rev and Mrs Crawley as they first appeared in Framley
Parsonage, and given us the same originally graceful dignified pair.
The woman has not changed much, just older, somewhat heavier;
the man looks sunken-in, brooding, slightly deranged. He looks at
some space in the mid-range of the room; his hand clasp his head
and knee. The room is bare: a wooden table, a book, a cupboard,
his books on a writing desk nearby.

Instalment Two:

Vignette:

We see a small picture of a recognisable Crawley standing surrounded
by young children in a schoolroom; vignette for Chapter Four ('The
Clergyman's House at Hogglestock'). Sources: Harper & Bros
Last Chronicle, p. 20; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No. 2.

Comment: the emphasis is on two girls who are drawn as at the front
with Mr Crawley facing away from us and towards the others. He is
talking to and patiently controlling the children. The girls whisper to
one another; we distinguish benches. The lack of hair-styling and
gowns of the children mark them as working-class. This is how
this man spends part of his day. The picture can communicate to
the modern reader ironies about how society has never valued or
paid teachers very much, especially teachers of poorer people.

The Full-Page Illustration:
'

"I love you as though you were my own", said the schoolmistress'.
Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 30; Smith, Elder
Last Chronicle, frontispiece to No. 2; also 1997 Trollope Society
Last Chronicle, facing p. 50. Reprinted and discussed in N.
John Hall, Anthony Trollope and His Illustrators, pp. 115-18.

Comment: this is a picture of a fairly young woman. Her plumpness
suggests she is no more than 20. She is a suppliant on her knees
to a kindly older woman. It is often said that women kneel to men
in the original illustrations to Trollope; rather the less powerful
character, one with lower status, kneels to the more powerful
one with higher status. The room is exquisitely detailed, from
the elegant wallpapers, to the pictures on the wall, flowers on
furniture, a mantelpiece with fringe, a mirror, pillows scattered
about, and the two women's dresses, hair. Hall praises Thomas
for having created pictures 'reminiscent of Millais; they are,
however, much less idyllic and more alert, older, as delicate, but
worried. This picture is actually as good or better than many
a Millais -- as are a number of the Thomas illustrations for The
Last Chronicle.

Ellen, thank you for "posting" the pictures for us. I
was especially interested in the description of
Crawley and his wife in his little sanctuary, and the
comment that he looked slightly deranged.

This book really grabbed my attention from the very
beginning. I think partly because I already know the
characters. Yes, my curiosity has gotten the better of
me once again and I was anxious to see what everyone
had been doing since our last visit.

Dagny

To Trollope-l

July 2, 2000

Re: Last Chronicle of Barset, Illustrations for Instalments 3 & 4

Instalment 3 (Chapters 7-8)

Vignette:

We see a small picture of decidedly elegant young gentleman
knocking at a solid door with the sign 'The Misses Prettyman';
vignette for Chapter Seven ('Miss Prettyman's Private Room').
Sources: Harper Last Chronicle, p. 32; Smith, Elder Last
Chronicle, No 3.

Comment: Here is Major Henry Grantly. He is not young (in the
way Johnny Eames was), but rather a man in his mid-thirties.
He is luxuriously dressed: there's a shiny top hat, a two-toned
overcoat, a cane. Very much the aristocrat. As Trollope says,
this man emerged from Plumstead Episcopi. We can feel
how this widower, with a child, come to court the relatively
and poor young Grace Crawley is himself a plum.

Full-Page Illustration:

'Mr Crawley Before the Magistrates'. Sources: Harper & Bros
Last Chronicle, p. 41; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, frontispiece
to No 3; also serves as frontispiece to 1997 Trollope Society
edition of The Last Chronicle. Reprinted and discussed Hall,
AT and His Illustrators, pp. 118-19.

Comment: This is a superb picture; this is a close imitation of
the man we saw in Millais in 'The Crawley Family', except now,
as Trollope said of Millais's picture of Lady Mason early in
Orley Farm (see Annotated Commentary 1, 'There was sorrow
in her heart, and deep thought in her mind') Mr Crawley is worn.
He is bending (I use Trollope's words of Lady Mason) to find within
himself 'in spite of all that [he] had gone through . . . .more of
strength, -- more of the power to resist all that this world could
do to [him]. Housman has posed Crawley as he was in the
near-by picture of himself with the respectful children; now his
audience is indifferent or hard and well-dressed, with authority
over him. He is tired and stiff; Mrs Crawley sits veiled at his side.
The two men at the side of the table and in the center of the picture
space are finely detialed, grim, whispering. Hall writes that
the 'entire crowded scene has movement and tension'.

Instalment 4 (Chapters 9-11)

Vignette:

We see a small picture of two girls bent over their sewing by
candlelight; vignette for Chapter Nine ('Grace Crawley Goes
to Allington'). Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 43;
Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No 4.

Comment: this is a lovely, delicate drawing. We see a plain
deal table, the two heads of the two girls bent at their task,
one more poorly dressed than the other. One does fine
sewing, and the other has some study cloth.
placing directly next to dialogue between Lily Dale and
Grace Crawley. They are becoming sympathetic friends.

Comment: the depiction is expressive rather than realistic:
the psychology on the face of Mrs Proudie is exaggerated:
she is pig-like rather than pugnacious, supercilious to the
point of a theatrical sniffing. However, what is visualised
is what Mrs Proudie feels like to the reader, our experience
of her as the worst of self-righteous blind bullies.
The Bishop is in shadows, holding his hands still. Again
the room is exquistely detailed; it is well-appointed with
curtains, rugs, handsome table, books.

Rory commented on my description of the Full-Page Illustration for
Instalment 2:
'

I haven't seen this illustration or read the discussion in Hall referred to
above. It is Grace Crawley telling Miss Prettyman that she wishes to leave
and go home. When you say her "plumpness" gives the impression of her
youth, is she drawn well covered or slender?'

Since I posted it sometime last week, here it is again:
'

The Full-Page Illustration:
'

"I love you as though you were my own", said the schoolmistress'.
Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 30; Smith, Elder
Last Chronicle, frontispiece to No. 2; also 1997 Trollope Society
Last Chronicle, facing p. 50. Reprinted and discussed in N.
John Hall, Anthony Trollope and His Illustrators, pp. 115-18.

Comment: this is a picture of a fairly young woman. Her plumpness
suggests she is no more than 20. She is a suppliant on her knees
to a kindly older woman. It is often said that women kneel to men
in the original illustrations to Trollope; rather the less powerful
character, one with lower status, kneels to the more powerful
one with higher status. The room is exquisitely detailed, from
the elegant wallpapers, to the pictures on the wall, flowers on
furniture, a mantelpiece with fringe, a mirror, pillows scattered
about, and the two women's dresses, hair. Hall praises Thomas
for having created pictures 'reminiscent of Millais; they are,
however, much less idyllic and more alert, older, as delicate, but
worried. This picture is actually as good or better than many
a Millais -- as are a number of the Thomas illustrations for The
Last Chronicle.'

I am looking at the reproduction of this woodcut as it appears
in N. John Hall's book (p. 116). I would use the word plump
for the upper part of the girl's body, but perhaps others might
settle for rounded. She has a full face we see from the side;
it is not lined at all. She is drawn well-covered. The blouse
part of the dress is what in the US was once called a shirt-
waist style. It is severe. The collar is high round her
neck, a thin line suggesting a white band with a triangle
in the middle. She wears long fullish sleeves with cuffs
around her wrists. The dress has a tight waist and then
flairs out, but not too much; there's enough material to
suggest abundance without rich folds. Very lightly sketched
in between her arms which rest on one of Miss Prettyman's
hands which are in Miss Prettyman's lap we can see lines
which suggest a neat bosom, not too full, not too flat.

I'm no expert on style, but I get the feeling from what I
have seen Miss Grace Crawley is dressed plainly, but not
humbly. Such a dress would have been regarded as fancy
by Jane Eyre -- who we recall had very austere ideas about
fashion. It seems in the same style as Mrs Proudie's,
though Mrs Proudie's looks satiny and plush and very full.
Again I may be wrong, but Miss Prettyman's cap looks old-
fashioned to me. All those frills and the held back hair
in it seem an older style. Her dress is quietly rich, lots
of material, with layers of of white glimpsed under the
sleeves.

Hall quotes seomthing Trollope wrote about this illustration:

The best figure [in a whole group] is that of Miss Prettyman
in No. 2. Grace is not good. She has fat cheeks, & is not
Grace Crawley. Crawley before the magiestrates is very good.
So is the bishop. Mrs Proudie is not quite my Mrs Proudie.

Hall remarks: 'Miss Prettyman is indeed delicately drawn,
and the close detail of the room very reminiscent of Millais;
Grace Crawley does appear fat-cheeked and her face has none
of the fine delineation of which Thomas was at times capable.'

In a later illustration of Grace accompanying her father into
the courtroom for his trial, G. Housman Thomas has mended his ways.
Grace has a much thinner face; it is wan, strained and looks
disturbed and drawn in. She is also a thinner figure, more
angular.

"Rory commented on my description of the Full-Page Illustration for
Instalment 2:

I'm no expert on style, but I get the feeling from what I
have seen Miss Grace Crawley is dressed plainly, but not
humbly."

I think this is what we would expect - she is a school assistant (school
mistress in posse, perhaps?) and would be as well dressed as she could
afford, having regard to what she sends home to her family, but most
certainly not overdressed. The Misses Prettyman would certainly ensure
that she was not in rags, for the sake of the school's reputation.

Ellen also wrote:

"Hall quotes seomthing Trollope wrote about this illustration:

Grace is not good. She has fat cheeks, & is not
Grace Crawley.

That is what I was getting at - I think Trollope was suggesting what we
would nowadays regard as the "gamine" figure (think Audrey Hepburn). [Pause
while all think of Audrey Hepburn...]

"In a later illustration of Grace accompanying her father into
the courtroom for his trial, G. Housman Thomas has mended his ways.
Grace has a much thinner face; it is wan, strained and looks
disturbed and drawn in. She is also a thinner figure, more
angular."

I'm glad the artist later revised his concept of Grace Crawley. I think
one of the hurdles Grace has to overcome is the impression in other people
that she is a mere child and Henry Grantly, a young widower with a small
child, is "baby-snatching", in the sense that he has fallen for an
insignificant chit, who could not care for a "ready made" family. It should
be mentioned that Henry Grantly has been awarded the Victoria Cross, the
highest award for bravery in the UK even still, this is a clue that he must
therefore be recognized by the reader to be decisive and unfearing.

One of my favorite passages in all Trollope is the interview between
Archdeacon Grantly and Grace Crawley. This is a joy yet to come for those
who haven't yet read The Last Chronicle; on reading it I think you will see
why I am dwelling on the importance of the correct representation of Grace
Crawley.

Thanks for the supplemental description and quotes, Ellen; they have been
very helpful.

Rory O'Farrell

To Trollope-l

July 9, 2000

Re: Last Chronicle of Barset, Illustrations to Chs 12-16:

Chs 12-14

The Vignette:

We see a small picture of a desolate landscape. This a place
where people work hard for their living. Vignette for Chapter
Twelve ('Mr Crawley Seeks for Sympathy'). Sources: Harper &
Bros Last Chronicle, p. 54; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle,
No 4.

Comment: this little sketch is superb, ought to be better known.
It might help offset the common idea that Trollope's books are
wholly about the rich and upper class and show little or no
knowledge of how the average working man of England lived.
We see a realistic depiction of a brickshed, straw on top,
tools inside. Nearby is a hard-worked well, a little farther off
another frail-looking structure. A small wooden bridge
crosses a stream; agricultural tools are stewn in the distance.
This is the scene after the men have left a hard day's labour.
It recalls water scenes in Dickens's novels with the difference
that nothing melodramatic has or is about to occur. The sky
is lowering but clear at the edges (through a light and heavy use
of lines).

Comment: this one also ought to be more frequently reprinted.
We see Mr Crawley sitting by the fire, warming himself, looking
up to a working man who scratches his head. Crawley isn't
rigid with pride here. The wife is seen in shadows by the threshold
and not carefully drawn; on the floor are straw baskets; on the
table a teapot. The picture is placed precisely over the dialogue
where Crawley asks Dan for advice and solace. The two are on
Crawley's side, but don't know what to say or how to help. They
don't understand the importance of words to Crawley. It looks
forward to the picture later in the volume where Crawley again
appeals to a working man and is told '"It's dogged as does it"'
(the frontispiece for the 1878 8 volume set, see below). It is
subtle, quieter, though not as well drawn as the latter.

Chs 15-16:

The Vignette:

We see a small picture a gentleman seen from the back; he is
sitting in a comfortable chair in a well-furnished room; there is
a massive, handsome fireplace, and a wall of books to his left;
on his right, we see a drink on a handsome table; he has a
wastebasket by his feet; vignette for Chapter 15 ('Up in London').
Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 66; Smith, Elder
Last Chronicle, No. 6.

Comment: here we have the mature John Eames, now a handsome
elegantly-dressed gentleman about town who has made a success
of his profession. From the side we can see a young face; he is
beardless, has only long whiskers.

Comment: we see an ostentatiously crest-fallen and submissive
young woman who looks down at the floor in plaintive blankness
as an older elegant gentlemen bows to her. They are standing
in front of a church, with a complacent older Lily to one side. It
reveals how the Victorian reader saw and accepted Grace
Crawley's behavior and status as lowly and the Squire's as
high and self- assured. (This reader hopes others gag as they
look at this one too.) Grace also contrasts strongly with the
self-assured older aristocratic gentlemen in the earlier vignette to
Chapter Seven.

Cheers to all,
Ellen Moody

To Trollope-l

July 16, 2000

Re: Last Chronicle of Barset, Illustrations to Chs 17-22

Instalment 7:

The Vignette:

We see a small picture of clergyman determinedly walking into
a church; he is seen from the back; at the entrance gate are
some working men who look unwelcoming and rough. This is
the vignette for Chapter 17 ('Mr Crawley is Summoned to
Barchester'). Sources: Harper & Bros. Last Chronicle,
p. 77; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No. 7.

Comment: here we see Rev Crawley braving the loss of respect
he now must endure as he goes into his church. Not enough work
has been done on the Crawley figure, but the working man who
looks belligerently out from the left-corner of the picture is well
done, as is the somewhat gentlemanly man who stands just
back of him (in lighter lines) repeating the same attitude.

Comment: this is a superb illustration which ought to be better known.
We see two large figures sitting together on a cart, all on the right
side of the picture. To the back the landscape is wintry (bare
trees, thin grasses) and the white makes it chill. The farmer has
a pleasant sturdy expression on his face as he urges his horse
on; he is well-bundled up, prosperous, good-humoured. Mr
Crawley's outfit is elegant, but looks thin; his expression is
glum, glowering, tired. The horse is beautifully drawn. Here
is Mr Crawley taken to the Bishop's palace in comfort in spite
of his anguished pride.

Instalment 8:

The Vignette:
We see a small picture of two gentleman conferring in someone's
study; one scratches his head, the other leans forward to make
an impression This is the vignette for Chapter 22 ('What Mr Walker
Thought About It'). Sources: Harper & Bros. Last Chronicle, p. 88;
Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No. 8.

Comment: here is our old friend Mark Robarts come to ask Mr
Walker's opinion. The dialogue faces the picture on the next
page of the Harper edition so it is dropped in beautifully. One
can make out Mark's clerical collar; the room is small; Mr
Walker who faces us, looks perturbed.

Comment: we see an old frail man sitting somewhat hesitantly
on a couch as he looks down at a young female child, blonde.
To the right standing behind them are an elegant gentlemen
in his thirties and a much older one whose hair is gray and
grizzled; a middle aged lady bows to the little girl while
talking to her. This is Mr Harding, who is drawn far less
sentimentally and absurdly than Millais's figure. He is simply
frail; Dr Grantly has aged, is stout and looks a bit tired.
Perhaps Mrs Grantly is made too young to be the mother
of Major Grantly who now appears in a larger clearer drawing.
Like Johnny Eames, he lacks a beard -- in fact almost no
one has a beard in these drawings. The picture does not
come off to this modern reader because the child is a fetish
object; her face is actually far too adult and knowing, her
eyes recall those of glamour cartoons in early 20th century
magazines. She is a kitsch drawing.

Separate modern note: the blond curly hair and nubile
body, almost slightly twitching, flirty, with those eyes
reminds of that poor child who here in the US was possibly
murdered by her mother or parents after she was put
into beauty contests. In fact you'd think Thomas has
seen this modern icon of beauty contests. The similarity
suggests to me we have a type here who appeals --
there's an illustration for The Claverings by Mary Ellen
Edwards of Florence in which you'd think Celia Johnson
had sat for the drawing. Again some idealised sentimental
type which these real people happened to embody.

[Back again from West Sussex, about which I will try to write
late tonight or tomorrow night. I did heed the advice
of many on the list and my husband, daughter, and I visited
the Open Air Museum, the Roman Villa at Bignor, Chicester
Cathedrale close and much more; for now, here are this week's
illustrations]

General Comment: as the evidence demonstrates that
Trollope suggested which scenes to depict, we should
notice all four illustrations for this week's chapters focus
our attention on the most unpastoral world of London. Our
attention is swerved away from Barsetshire, onto a letter,
and to the world of money, prestige, and to art as a business.
Dalrymple chooses a scene which has salacious connotations;
that's why it appeals. We are invited to read it as a
self-reflexive allegorical commentary (using the
text of the Bible) on Trollope's subplot about
the Van Sievers, Dobbs Broughtons, Dalrymple, and
Madalina Desmoulins. I suggest Trollope
is restless with his Barsetshire material, except insofar
as it concerns the Rev Crawley v the Proudies. He wants
to bring Lily to London.

Instalment 9:
The Vignette

We see a small picture of elderly postman handing a letter to
a maid standing at a gate. This is the vignette for Chapter 23
('Miss Lily Dale's Resolution'). Sources: Harper & Bros. Last
Chronicle, p. 100; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No. 9.

Comment: this scene is not dramatised in the text; instead we
are given Adolphus Crosbie's letter to Lily's mother in which,
now that his wife is dead, he attempts to begin a romance
leading to marriage with Lily once again. This is another of
Trollope's great letter texts which we should talk about.
The postman looks old and frail, not well-dressed; the
maid has a cross expression on her face, but the latter
may be just inadequate engraving. The effect is to emphasise
the rural quiet world of Barset into which the letter arrives
as disruptive and from a real world.

The Full-Page Illustration
'

"I am very glad to have the opportunity of shaking hands with you"'.
Sources: Harper & Bros. Last Chronicle, p. 107; Smith, Elder
Last Chronicle, Frontispiece to No. 9. Reprinted as frontispiece
to 1964 Houghton Mifflin edition of The Last Chronicle of Barsetshire,
ed. Arthur Mizener. As Mizener writes, we see 'Adolphus Crosbie
stepping across the Dobbs Broughton's drawning-room to shake
hands with Johnny Eames. On Johnny's right sits Madalina
Desmoulines; next to her is Augustus Musselboro, and next to him
Mrs Vansiever. the two (male) figures in the background are
Mrs Broughton and Conway Dalrymple.

Comment: there is an intendedly strong contrast with vignette of
postman and maid; we see an elegant party going on, with
richly dressed ladies and gentleman, the world Crosbie married to
get into, the world from which his letter came, the world which
has turned him into more than a little of a sleaze. As with Millais's
depiction of 'Lady Lufton and the Duke of Omnium' for Framley
Parsonage (see Annotated Commentary 1 on my website), the
focus is on an older woman's face: this time, it's the avaricious,
mean Mrs Van Siever, a measure of the difference in mood in this
book's presentation of high life and that of Framley Parsonage).
Pace Mizener's denigrating commentary, this picture is as
effective in its way as Millais's: the woman in the center is the
spirit of the place; Crosbie's outstretched hand is accompanied
by a cold supercilious expression on his face; Madalina has an
anxious, expectant and demanding look at she faces Johnny
whose face is depicted looking away to Crosbie.

Instalment 10:

We see a small picture of an artist painting on an easel; in the
background a man sits watching and smoking. This is the vignette
for Chapter 25 ('Miss Madalina Desmoulins'). Sources: Harper & Bros.
Last Chronicle, p. 112; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No. 10.

Comment: Just below in the American edition we read the
following ironic passage:
'

"I don't think you care two straws about her", Conway
Dalrymple said to his friend John Eames, two days after
the dinner party. The painter was at work in his study,
and the private secretary from the Income- Tax Office,
who was no doubt engaged on some special mission
to the West End on the part of Sir Raffle Buffle
[oh doubtless], was sitting on a lounging chair
and smoking a cigar.

Considering the importance of the picture in the story, the
choice is right from many points of views. Alas, not enough
time has been taken on the engraving, and the figure of
Dalrymple is simply recognisable as artist from his beard,
palette, and smock. For some reason Thomas rushes this
job -- as he did not the picture of Miss Prettyman's study.
A lost opportunity. It seems to me Thomas does not work
hard on the vignettes; in The Small House Millais did.

Comment: Mrs Dobbs-Broughton is very well drawn -- as N. John Hall
would say, much in Millais's manner. She is intently looking at the
picture in which we can see the outlines of the Sisera- Jael story.
She is proud, intelligent, beautifully dressed; Dalrymple backs away
hesitantly. The problem with the picture is Clara Van Siever's face:
what is meant to be jealousy comes across as a distanced
flat expression. The room is that of a wealthy woman, lovely lace
curtains on the window; to the side on a pedestal, a naked woman
kneeling, an arm drawn across her breast is the best touch (even
if not sufficiently carefully engraved). Clara is dressed in an
absurdly beribboned, bemuffed, belaced young way which is
precisely appropriate to the means her mother has used
to imprison her all her life thus far.

Cheers to all,
Ellen Moody

July 30, 2000

Re: Last Chronicle of Barset, Illustrations for Chs 28-32

Instalment 11
The Vignette:

For Chapter 28 (Showing How Major Grantley Took a Walk'),
the vignette is a small picture of elegantly-dressed gentleman
bringing a horse and chariot into a stable. Sources: Harper & Bros.
Last Chronicle, p. 112; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No. 11.

Comment: through shadows lightly etched, not carefully engraved
(through distinct lines) we see Major Grantly arriving in the yard of
the Red Lion, preparatory to walking to Mrs Dale's house to see
Grace. This is the same man of aristocratic bearing who came
knocking on Miss Prettyman's door.

Comment: this is a good landscape picture. We see the quiet
Barsetshire countryside lovingly delineated; picturesque treatment.
Two gentleman (the Squire and Major Grantly) are walking
and conversing by a old thick tree; in the distance two
women are walking in a pair (Grace and Lily). The Squire
is bent over, intent; Major Grantly listening. As is
typical throughout all the original illustrations, the Squire is
made far younger and more elegant than Trollope meant him
to look. It seems illustrators and novelists thought the public
did not care for elderly unhandsome people. (Mrs Dale is
also made too young by both Millais and Thomas.)

Instalment 12:

The Vignette:

For Chapter 32 (Mr Toogood'), the vignette is a small picture of a
man coming to his place of business; Sources:
Harper & Bros. Last Chronicle, p. 135; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle,
No. 12.

Comment: perhaps since this turn in the story is important,
Thomas has taken some time over the picture. Mr Toogood, as his
name indicates, is a deliciously 'good' character, a moral
touchstone in the story; Thomas did take a bit more time over these
pictures because he suddenly repeats the gestures, gait, whole
appearance of Millais's first depiction of Mr Harding in _The
Small House at Allington_. Compare Millais's '"There is Mr
Harding coming out of the Deanery"' (see my Annotated Commentary 2).
Mr Toogood is, however, dressed a bit too elegantly for the
plain man Trollope suggests. He is also unlike Mr Harding in
the hawklike clarity or vigilant step given him; Mr Harding
looks frail in Millais's depictions.

Comment: this is a good one and deserves to be better known. We
see a heavy-set rich-looking, large and imposing man, our Dr Grantly,
on a strong horse talking to the keeper. The keeper is not
intimidated but talks earnestly up at him with his own dog
at his feet. Grantly listens intently as the keeper tells
him a word from him would go far to making the Ullathornes
do whatever he wishes; the reference is to Grantly's desire
to please and to make his son into a fox-hunting gentleman.
To hunt foxes is to be a gentleman, and Henry's desire
to do so soften the Archdeacon. Thomas has been careful to
make Grantly consistent throughout. This is the same portly
older man we saw in an earlier full-page illustration in the book.
He is not depicted as young, but is clearly middle-aged. The figure
looks much older than the figure for Squire Dale (which of course
does not follow the fiction; in the fiction Squire Dale is the
elderly man.)

Cheers to all,
Ellen Moody

To Trollope-l

August 6, 2000

Re: Last Chronicle of Barset, Illustrations for Instalments 13 & 14

Here is a description of the illustrations for this week's instalments.

Instalment 13:

The Vignette:

For Chapter 34 ("Mrs Proudie sends for her lawyer'), the vignette is
a small picture of a stout, domineering woman in enormous black dress.
In the near distance to her in the room a man sitting at a desk
holds his head. Sources: Harper & Bros. Last Chronicle, p. 145;
Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No. 13.

Comment: the background is poorly sketched; however, it is recognisably
the same study we saw in '"A Convicted Thief"' (Instalment 4). Here Mrs
Proudie is visualised as a thrusting hard woman making the figure who
covers his face with his hand in the background miserable.

Comment: there is a closely similar picture in Henry Woods's series
for The Vicar of Bullhampton, 'Sunday Morning at Dunripple' (see
Annotated Commentary 6), also an autumnal scene where we see
two people who do not become lovers, Walter Marrable and Edith
Brownlow, walking side-by-side. Both Thomas's and Woods's
pictures visualise touchingly quiet loss and stoic acceptance as the
common experience of life. The delicacy of the intimation is
conveyed by, as Hall says, the 'depersonalised faces', the stylisation,
the 'sterile atmosphere' between two people walking in parallel
lines at a distance amidst 'late afternoon shadows, leafless trees
and, in the case of Thomas's picture, a huge stump. The same
'rigid upright posture' and quiet parallel walking apart is
depicted in Thomas's and Woods's pair of people where sex is
sublimated, made out of the qustion, could and maybe ought to
have happened.

Instalment 14:

The Vignette

The vignette for for Chapter 36 ('Grace Crawley Returns Home') is a
small picture of two young women saying goodbye to one another
at a door, one in cloak and bonnet; in the distance an older one looks
on. Sources: Harper & Bros. Last Chronicle, p. 158; Smith, Elder
Last Chronicle, No. 14.

Comment: Grace seems sad to leave; her posture is one of
reluctance. It's noteworthy that in the Harper Bros edition,
just below this vignette and surrounding the full-page illustration
(also of a character responding to a letter) we have the texts of
Major Grantly's, Grace's and then the mother's letter asking
her daughter to come home to her father.

Comment: Another exquisitely realised depiction of an intimate
moment in a bourgeois interior. We see Grace in a high collar
looking a bit older (probably because of the bun) and Lily
whose dark hair is tied back. Both are reading their respective
letters while a full-bodied Mrs Dale reads a newspaper.
Thomas provides many details: the steaming tea, an open ham,
a toast rack, bread and butter all laying on a cloth-covered table.
The breakfast comforts of the English middle class of the
period, a sense of quiet sociability and dignity, which Grace
must now leave.

Cheers to all,
Ellen Moody

To Trollope-l

August 13, 2000

Re: Last Chronicle of Barset, Illustrations for Instalments 15 & 16

Instalment 15:

The Vignette:

The vignette for Chapter 39 ('A New Flirtation'): a small picture of
gentleman bowing ever so slightly to lady who curtseys deeply
before him. Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 169; Smith, Elder
Last Chronicle, No. 15.

Comment: John Eames takes up with Madalina Desmoulins. It is
very lightly, even carelessly sketched. There is, though, a significant
detail. The gentleman shows his leg: in the Victorian this gesture
was seen as mildly salacious or teasing. In The Egoist Meredith
has a scene where Sir Willoughby Patterne shows his leg to
the 'nymph' he is courting, and the nymph's low curtsey suggests
he can see her décolletage.

Comment: deep in the shadows of a bare room, we see a young
woman leaning on an older one; beyond a door threshold is a bed.
Mr Crawley lies sick.. A great deal of trouble has been taken over
the details of the dresses, the thin drugget on the floor; the small
round table with its cup of tea. In the American edition, beneath
the picture we read the dialogue where Grace tells her mother of
Major Grantly's visit and her response.

nstalment 16:

The Vignette

The vignette for Chapter 42 ('Mr Toogood Travels Professionally') is a
small picture of man walking up to or alongside a tavern. Sources:
Harper & Bros. Last Chronicle, p. 181; Smith, Elder Last
Chronicle, No. 16.

Comment: this is an effective vignette. The man seems so small,
dwarfed, a mere dark shadow, against the large lit tavern detailed
enough to show us the many-panelled windows, stairwell in to
where there are bright lights (all white) against the shadowy
silent cobbled streets. Here is Mr Toodgood arriving at the Dragon
of Wantly where there is sleuthing to be done if the sleuth be
clever enough.

Comment: a wonderful picture, one of the best of the original
illustrations to Trollope's novels. It is filled with good feeling
emanating from the faces of the two men: the waiter is
very old, his face very wrinkled as he stands at attention. His
is a real face alive with alert consciousness. He is not glamorised;
his outfit is wrinkled (like his face), a bit shabby; he has on
thin slippers, and one of his hands is on the table between
himself and his customer, Mr Toogood. Mr Toogood leans
back in his chair, comfortably holding a smoking cigar as he
looks up respectfully and genially at the waiter; they are talking.
Mr Toogood has a liquor set-up on the table, is wearing flapping
slippers. The lines are all carefully done to indicate the different
objects in such a room (picture of a man hunting on the wall),
back nondescript piece of wooden furniture.

Cheers to all,
Ellen Moody

Re: Last Chronicle of Barset, Illustrations for Instalments 17 & 18

Instalment 17:

The Vignette:

The vignette for Chapter 44 ('I suppose I must let you have it') is a
small picture of one gentleman approaching another who sits down
at a desk. Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 192;
Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No. 17.

Comment: Trollope's illustrator focuses us on the first moment
when Crosbie has to ask for the loan. Thomas gives us a
Butterwell who looks up from his desk with a stubborn, unfriendly
grimace on his face; Crosbie is pictured reaching into his jacket
for a paper. In the Harper & Bros American edition, the dialogue
appears just below the vignette.

The Full-Page Illustration:

'They pronounced her to be very much like a lady'. Sources:
Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 195; Smith, Elder Last
Chronicle, Frontispiece to No. 17.

Comment: Lily is wearing the same striped dress we saw in
an earlier illustration; there is good feeling emanating from the
old man's face: Mr Dale leans over the table watching Lily
looking at a photography (again how up-to-date, up-the-
moment and unnostalgic is Trollope) of Emily Dunstable who
will now become Bernard Dale's wife. This illustration is meant
to recall the women at the breakfast table of InstalmentNo. 14
('She read the beginning -- "Dearest Grace"'). This novel is filled
with good domestic pictures, and was read as a deeply-felt
reflection of the life of the middle class at the time.

Instalment 18:

The Vignette:

The vignette for Chapter 48 ('Dr Tempest at the Palace') is a small
picture of man leaning over a table attempting to write a letter.
Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 203; Smith, Elder
Last Chronicle, No 18.

Comment: as can be seen from the passage 'dropped' just below,
here is Bishop Proudie struggling with the difficult task of
writing to Mr Tempest to ask him to come to the palace to set
another investigation on foot which neither he nor Dr Tempest want.
The figure looks unusually light and intelligent: we are told by our
narrator that the Bishop was good at writing such letters and
this to Mr Tempest was and is effective in just the way the Bishop
wants. The Bishop's relative ease also reflects the absence of
Mrs Proudie. This is the first picture of the Bishop in which Mrs
Proudie does not appear.

The Full-Page Illustration:

'"As right as a trivet, uncle"'. Sources: Harper & Bros Last
Chronicle p. 213; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece
to No 18.

Comment: this is a beautifully drawn, elaborated picture of
John Eames walking along with Mr Toogood at his side. Mr
Toogood looks very concerned; Johnny holds his head down;
he has a heavy cloak on one arm and a round rather than top hat.
We see a train next to them, and shadowy people at work on
top of it loading the luggage onto the train. John is setting
off on his chivalrous mission to save Mr Crawley; he is ever
troubled by his desire for Lily and betrayal of her with Madalina,
and his assertion he is not bothered at all suggests he is indeed
personally disquieted about his relationships with women.'

Cheers to all,
Ellen Moody.

Re: Last Chronicle of Barset, Illustrations for Instalments 19-21

Instalment 19:

The Vignette:

The vignette for Chapter 49 ('Near the Close') is a picture of a small picture
of elderly man looking out the window, troubled. Sources: Harper & Bros
Last Chronicle, p. 215; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No 19.

Comment: it's interesting to consider that this figure could be either
Dr Grantly or Bishop Proudie or Mr Harding. The picture occurs above
the passages aabout how troubled Dr Grantly is over Henry; nearby
we also hear about Proudie's troubled soul. Still it is very like the
drawing of Mr Harding by Millais and the moving passages of Mr
Harding looking out the window fit: the man gazes through a floor to
ceiling window. He's thin, a cleric -- of course all three males in this
chapter are clerics.

Comment: this really is an appalling picture; the blonde child has a
come-hither look on her preternaturally alert face; the old man
clearly dotes on her. Lavish attention has been paid to details of
the child's full dress, hair and shoes; a picture on the wall depicts
a wealthy bourgeois woman overlooking another child.

Instalment 20:

The Vignette:

The vignette for Chapter 52 ('"Why don't you have an 'it' for yourself?"')
is a small picture of woman in a dark dress handing a hat to another
woman who is attempting to refuse it, but has already taken hold of a
riding whip; there is a riding cloak lying on a nearby chair. Sources:
Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 233; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle,
No 20.

Comment: the text which surrounds the picture dramatises how
Emily Dunstable maneuvers Lily into going horseback riding in
the park (where they meet Crosbie).

Comment: Clara is recognisably the same young girl we saw dressed
up in frilly 19th century garb; here she is dressed for her sexy
Biblical role, with Mrs Dobbs-Broughton (in the same dress she appeared
in the earlier illustration), fixing the scarf which is to be wrapped round Clara's
head. We see Dalrymple from the back looking back from a canvas to
watch them. Clara's face is again not well done; it's as if Thomas didn't
know what expression to give her. Mrs Dobbs- Broughton is again
intent on her task, alive with intensity.

Instalment 21:

The Vignette:

The vignette for Ch 53 ('Rotten Row') is a small picture of elegant older man
bowing to an elegantly-dressed lady while another older woman looks on;
Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicl, p. 237; Smith, Elder Last
Chronicle, No 21.

Comment: here is Lily encountering Crosbie with her friend looking on.
Thomas has gotten compassion into the other woman's face, sketchy
as the drawing is.

The Full-Page Illustration

"I can be nothing to you because of Papa's disgrace"'. Sources: Smith,
Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece to No. 21; 1997 Trollope Society Last
Chronicle facing p. 528.

Comment: another of Grace Crawley whose story becomes more central
in the pictures, suggesting something of the nature of the audience for
whom the illustrations were drawn. Grace is submissive, plaintively looking
down, all shame and self- abnegation. She stands before Major Grantly
and a comfortable looking Mrs Robarts (who wears a lovely shawl). He at
least looks appalled. There is again something about the delineation of
the face (its shape and expression) which recalls that of Celia Johnson
(see Annotated Commentary 3 on the depiction of Florence Burton,
'Florence Burton Makes Up a Packet', an illustration by Edwards for The
Claverings).

The vignette for Chapter 56 ('The Archdeacon Goes to Framley') is a
small picture of heavy-set clerical gentleman pointing to a sign with
his umbrella or cane. Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p.
248; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No 22.

Comment: An effective vignette of Dr Grantly at a significant
moment. The gingerliness with which he touches the sign he finds
so awful makes it exquisitely right. The pictures visualises
externally what would be the instinctive gesture of this character,
were his son publicly to sell his property to others as things the
son cannot afford to keep or give away.

The Full-Page Illustration:

'"But it will never pass away", said Grace'. Sources: Harper & Bros
Last Chronicle, p. 258; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece
for No 22.

Comment: this is the same Dr Grantly we saw in the illustration of
Posy and her grandfather. He looks down fondly at the uncomfortable
young woman who cannot meet his eyes. All concern he, he holds her
hand in his. Thus do we see Dr Grantly coming to accept Grace
Crawley. He is made pretty in the picture; her face has more
sharpness and wit in it than in the others. Trollope's pre-Freudian
insight into the sexuality of a man's response to a woman is clear.

Instalment 23:

The Vignette:

The vignette for Chapter 58 ('The Cross-Grainedness of Men') is a
small picture of an older gentleman listening to a working man
explain something as a somewhat younger looking gentleman looks on.
Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 259; Smith, Elder
_Last Chronicle_, No 23.

Comment: here is the gamekeeper, Flurry, explaining the situation
over the foxes to Dr and Major Grantly. That it is not a genial
scene, but one of dominance and submission and the class discomfort
and parental-filial tensions are made apparent.

The Full-Page Illustration

"Honour thy father -- that thy days be long in the land"'.
Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle, p. 264; Smith,
Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece to No 23.

Comment: here we have a rare deathbed scene in the original
illustrations to Trollope's fictions. There is another
in Phineas Redux (see Annotated Commentary 7, '"He may
soften her heart"'). Most of the time Trollope's illustrators
chose scenes after someone has died, or of grief in another
room; Trollope is more oblique; he is also interested in the
response of the living to death; death itself he shies away
from. Perhaps because Mr Harding means so much to the
Barsetshire series; the visitor is Major Grantly. Mr Harding's face is
that of a death's head. I suggest a moral to this
picture is don't do anything to someone in life which
you will regret after the individual has died and
it is too late to make amends; this is
the moral of many of the ghost stories of the period.

Instalment 24:

The Vignette:

The vignette for Chapter 60 ('The End of Jael and Sisera')
is a small picture of a torn canvas, and suddenly
abandoned palette, with brushes and cloth left
on a table. Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle,
p. 270; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No 24.

Comment: I like the conception. It's a synecdoche which
sums up what happened concisely. The tear is a harsh
black triangle against a canvas where we see a flailing
fist held up. Admittedly, as with many of these
vignettes, Thomas's or the final engraver's execution
leaves something to be desired: it's too sketchy;
not enough time (=money) has been spent.

The Full-Page Illustration: 2 Versions

'"It's Dogged as Does it"'. Source: Smith, Elder Last Chronicle,
Frontispiece to No 24. Reprinted in Trollopiana, 42, p. 13.

Comment: Thomas's much rougher more realistic picture
has been supercseded by Francis Arthur Fraser's much more
graceful austere pair of men (see below) in the sense that
most 20th century discussions and reprints are of Fraser's
illustration.

In Thomas's picture Hoggett the brickmaker is a rougher
man, with a wide girth to the upper part of his body;
he has no grace or elegance of any kind; his legs
are thin and bent, his boots worn and clumsy. He
points downward with one hand (for emphasis) and
grasps Mr Crawley's hand with the other. Mr Crawley holds
his coat tight shut against the wind. The day feels soaken
through with water seen in the grasses (lines on the ground)
and the leafless large tree behind them.

This is a good illustration; Hoggett is alive with feeling
and the landscape around them. Mr Crawley is slightly
more cartoon-like. It ought to be better-known, and
certainly along with the breakfast table, and the
vignettes of Barsetshire ordinary life, one of those
reprinted in modern editions of The Last Chronicle.
The decision to reprint the lubricious depictions
of Polly Arabin with her grandfather is hard to understand.

In the 1878-8 edition of Barsetshire chronicles, one of the
six frontispieces by Francis Arthur Fraser illustrated
this scene. Source: Hall AT and His Illustrators,
pp. 142-43. Fraser's Mr Crawley looks more like Millais's,
and the elegance of Millais's depictions is kept up in
both figures. Perhaps the figures are too stiff,
too austere, yet they leave a memorable impression.
They stand there monumentally, proud, grim, dogged.
The monumentalism recalls the illustrations towards
the close of Orley Farm. One feels how cold
and wet and dreary is the spot they stand on without
feeling soaked -- the sky and trees are brilliantly
made real through many tiny dark lines. For the
rain we get tiny elongated tears of white. Superb.

Cheers to all,
Ellen Moody

Thank you Ellen for once again posting your illustration commentary
for us.

Of particular interest to me was the one where Dr. Grantly sees the
notice for the sale of his son's belongings. I found this scene in
the
book to be very moving, the beginning of his re-thinking of the
situation after his discussion with Lady Lufton. He is horrifed to
find that this is going forward, even to the sale of the gelding that
he recently gave to Henry. He pokes at it angrily with his umbrella
and it falls to the ground. He does not condescend to pick it up.

We will see later in the read another case of a missive being angrily
thrown to the ground when Lily Dale receives a noxious letter. Poor
Lily picks it up and throws it down again and even goes so far as to
stomp upon it. It is easier for her to let her emotions out in her
instance than in Dr. Grantly's situation.

Dagny

Re: The Last Chronicle of Barset, Illustrations for Instalments 25 & 26

Instalment 25:
The Vignette

The vignette for Chapter 62 ('Mr Crawley's Letter to the Dean') is a small
picture of a thin, worn Mr Crawley sitting at his desk. Sources: Harper &
Bros Last Chronicle, p. 280; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No 25.

Comment: the dark shadows on the man's face, and his pose of grit and
determination are perfect. The letter one of the great ones by Trollope. This
sort of scene -- a man sitting at a desk composing a letter -- occurs in
numbers of the novels (Ralph the Heir, Orley Farm). The frontispiece
for Kept in the Dark by Millais is of a young woman near a window
from which we see a characteristically Roman building; she sits at
a desk trying composing a letter in which she tells her bethrothed
that she was engaged before; alas, she never sends it.

Comment: we see an elegant man who has something of a sycophantic or
submissive posture returning to a sad-looking horse tethered to a fence;
his hand is held out towards those in the house as if in explanation. This is
Mr Thumble stiff and uncomfortable. At the threshold we see a head we recognise
as Crawley's; the young man next to him with the moustache is Major Grantly.
We can see the worn cottage wall, a rough garden. This is an effective
illustration of the moment after the scene we are about to read.

The Vignette

The vignette for Chapter 64 ('The Tragedy at Hook Court') is a small picture of a man's
body lying across a threshold; his head is unseen; beyond is an inner courtyard
where we glimpse the window of an office. Sources: Harper & Bros Last Chronicle,
p. 290; Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No 26.

Comment: a synecdoche-like illustration tells the end of Dobbs-Broughton. It seems
appropriate that the crises of this subplot are done in synecdoches as we have the
story only in sketches. We hardly ever see poor Dobbs. Another closely violent
suicide occurs in The Bertrams; there too the suicide is a man who has lost
all his property and his position and who blows his brains out with a gun.

Comment: the drawing of the women's faces is very poor; Mrs Van Siever is a witch in a
cartoon; Clara looks out at the world theatrically annoyed. The dresses are rich enough.
As with the pictures of the sexy Arabin grandchild, one wonders who could chose to
print this illustration as opposed to the many good ones.

Cheers to all,
Ellen Moody

Re: The Last Chronicle of Barse, Illustrations for Instalments 27 & 28

Instalment 27:

The Vignette:

The vignette for Chapter 67 ('In Memoriam') is a small picture of an old
man facing a fireplace, holding his face in his hands. His housekeeper
watches him from afar. Source: Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No.
27.

Comment: These small vignettes towards the end of the novel are
uniformly effective. They are tasteful indications of broken people,
broken vows, loss. Each works through visual synecdoche.

The Full-Page Illustration:

"They will come to hear a ruined man declare his ruin". Source: Smith,
Elder Last Chronicle, facing p. 674. Reprinted and discussed
in Hall AT and His Illustrators, p. 119.

Comment: This is a moving depiction of Mr Crawley's sense of a final
ordeal to be gone through as he walked into church with Jane on his
arm. The Millais-like grace and elegance that Thomas has chosen
for the scene fits; so too the rugged head. Mr Crawley's head is now
skull-like; the dark colours with which his clothes are filled in
contrasts with Grace's white dress and its heavy lines for folds.
Yet people will come to see such things -- all the more because
the central figure has a deeply-feeling sensibility. Mr Crawley is
a curiosity.

Instalment 28:

The Vignette:

The vignette for Chapter 50 ('Mrs Arabin Is Caught') is a small picture
of a young man asleep inside a train compartment. Source: Smith,
Elder Last Chronicle, No. 28.

Comment: We glimpse the sea outside the train window; across the
way on the other seat is a book, some papers. Here is John Eames,
on his way. Another synecdoche, this time summing up the
chivalrous rescue.

The Full-Page Illustration:

"No Sale After All". Source: Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece
to No 28.

Comment: Dr Grantly's joy is conveyed through this magnificent full
portrait of a stables. We see buildings, beautiful horses, well-tended
fences; a man is placing a newspaper on a post pillar. Towards the
right of the illustration we see a man with a high hat (Dr Grantly)
telling another man, "No sale". Again another illustration which ought
to fomr the ordinary repertoire of the original illustrations worth
reprinting with editions of this novel.

Cheers to all,
Ellen Moody

To Trollope-l

September 24, 2000

Re: The Last Chronicle of Barset, Illustrations for Instalments 29 & 30

Instalment 29:
The Vignette:

The vignette for Chapter 73 ('There is Comfort at Plumstead') is a small
picture of older clergyman on one side of a table, with an elegant much
younger gentleman on the other side of the table pouring some wine out
of a decanter into a stemmed wineglass.

Comment: Here is Archdeacon Grantly in yet another of these scenes of
men sitting together around a table drinking. There are a number of
these in the original illustrations to the novels. The feeling is good, one
of implicit congeniality. There is a suggestion of paintings on the walls,
and more glass decanters on other tables. The Archdeacon certainly
has a comfortable home.

The Full-Page Illustration:
'

"These are young Hogglestockians, are they?"'. Source: Smith, Elder
Last Chronicle, Frontispiece for No. 29.

This is a large illustration depicting a genial full-bodied man holding out his
hand to children in a schoolroom who crowd about him. We see Crawley
to the left coming to greet him. The feeling is, again right: here we have
the now Dickensian Toogood. It would come off but for the careless
drawing (or engraving). In other words, the execution is poor, but the
choice of moment (probably Trollope's) and the conception are right.

Instalment 30:

The Vignette:

The vignette for Chapter 76 ('"I think he is light of heart"') is a small
picture of a man in black, bundled up, carrying a doctor's bag. Source:
Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, No. 30.

Again the focus is Mr Toogood. It's another effective synecdoche.
Mr Toogood hurries away for a flying visit to London; he is for the
moment not needed.

The Full-Page Illustration:

'The Last Denial'. Source: Smith, Elder Last Chronicle, Frontispiece for
No 30.

Comment: Beautifully achieved visualisation of Lily standing behind the curtains,
looking out of glass window as she watches a man walk away. The drawing is
slightly stiff, but adequate. Thomas captures Lily's presence, her grief, her
loss, her pride; it's a melancholy scene which is perfect to end on. There is
one very like it, only very poorly drawn drawn of Mrs Hurtle at the close of The
Way We Live Now (see Annotated Commentary 8, 'Then hiding herself at the
window, she watched him as he went along the street'. I suggest that
the focus on the lady or gentleman saying a specific no to a specific
individual is not what Trollope's texts are about: they are about staying
true to the experience known over the course of the text which requires
a sense of regretted loss.

Ellen Moody

To Trollope-l

October 1, 2000

Re: The Last Chronicle of Barset, Illustrations for Instalments 31 & 32

Instalment 31:

The Vignette:

The vignette for Chapter 79 ('Mr Crawley speaks of his coat') is a small picture
of Grace Crawley returning to the Crawley household. Source: Smith, Elder
Last Chronicle, No. 31.

Comment: The technique once more is that of the synecdoche. We see a lady
opening the door of a fence, quiet, hesitant, shy, but determined. What is
interesting is that the picture could also be of Lily Dale returning home to
Allington.

Comment: this is a badly drawn picture of Madalina falling on Johnny Eames; the
woman is far too large; were she to stand she'd tower over the man. She seems
not to be falling. Rather she is leaning on him, and the sense is for quite some
time. John attempts to push up the deadweight. At the door we see an older
woman who has a sour expression on her face and sad eyes. This is supposed
to be Johnny's final scene with Madalina. Why the Trollope Society chose to
reprint this one is puzzling. It is so poor. It's funny for the wrong reasons.

Instalment 32:

The Vignette:

The vignette for Chapter 82 (The Last Scene at Hogglestock') is a small picture of
an older elegantly-dressed young man who is coming down from a horse; next
to him stands a young gentlewoman. Source: Smith, Elder Last Chronicle,
No 32.

Comment: this is recognisably the same young gentleman who knocked on Miss
Prettyman's door in Instalment 3, Chapter 7 at the opening of the novel. We
are now at closure. Th blonde girl is also Grace who is still waiting for her prince.
If sketchy, the lines of the drawing are elegant and graceful.

Comment: This picture is the appropriate one with which to end this book, and,
indeed, the chronicles of Barsetshire. We see a ravaged man sitting by a bare
table; he reads a letter, his face all anxiety, strained. Behind him stands a figure
who is recognisably Grace, and slightkly sketched in behind is the mother. Here
are real people caught in the desperate grips of their own psychology, whose
central elements have been formed by contact with other and powerful people,
as ever dependent upon those powerful. That Mr Crawley held back (much to
the derision of Dr Grantly) makes him the man he is. He must, however, give
in. He must even be grateful. It is interesting that the last full-page illustration
of Phineas Finn, the second book of the Pallisers is also a picture of a
man sitting reading a letter which offers him a small position in Ireland so he
may marry and live in minimal respectability and comfort. Over Phineas's
head we see Mary Floyd Jones in a similar posture to that of Mr Crawley's
daughter Grace. Here is the modern world: people dependent on the
indifferent largess of others to give them a niche, a niche which is offered
somewhat grudgingly. The two echoing pictures are worth many words;
I have no doubt Trollope chose the subject or moment both times.